Prologue: The Journey Begins...
Prologue: The Journey Begins...
In the Foyer of the Royal Palace, Storm Chaser stood in front of a very serious looking Princess Celestia, and around him was three of her Royal Guards. She spoke very loudly, with a voice that made him fear for his life.
"Storm Chaser, for twelve counts of murder, two counts of kidnapping, resisting arrest, even killing six of my own guards in cold blood, one count of sexual assault, 87 counts of theft and attempting to bring back Nightmare Moon, i will, on the afternoon of tomorrow, banish you to the moon for 2400 years." Celestia looked down at him harder than she already was and continued, her eyes gave a look that were hard as stone, but had just a slight glint of sadness "But... Before i order you to the prison to spend the last moments on this world... I want to know why. How could you do such things?"
She knew his past very well, he had a reputation of being the most friendly, caring and playful pegasus in ponyville, exceptions being Rainbow Dash and Pinkie Pie.
Storm Chaser looked up at her, with a serious look "I didn't do anything, and even if i did, there's no way i would be able to hide any bodies, or hide those i would have kidnapped, and why would i steal anything? I don't need anything except for clouds, and i basically eat the-" Celestia interrupted him, snapping at him, with the same serious voice but calm "I don't want to know about your unhealthy eating habits, as for the bodies... you could have easily hidden them or any of the kidnapped in the Everfree Forest..." She studied Storm's blank expression, and turned around "Take him to his cell"
Storm yelled out with rage, a sob on the edge of his voice, struggling as the Royal Guards took him out of the room slowly "Celestia! Please, no! You know me, why would i do that? I'm still the same Storm you all know and love, I've been Framed!" The words kept going but were utterly muffled by the closing of the double doors.
The rest of the day went by as Storm sat in his cell, trying to figure out the situation.
After a few minutes the burgundy-coated pegasus got tired of thinking and decided it was time for action, and started to look at what was around the cell. He first started by looking out the barred window.
He smiled that it led off the mountain, and looked around, near the cell walls and the hallway, but saw the three guards near the door into the hallway.
He looked at the wall and looked for any weaknesses in the stone, knocking a couple times all over the stone, the only place he found any weakness was in the middle of the wall, directly under the window, but really close to the floor.
Hoping it would work, he did his best to buck the stone wall, with the first hit, the stone made a slight grinding sound, which filled his heart with hope as he continued to buck the stone wall. Being a pegasus he didn't have much strength in his bucks, after all, he was obviously no Earth Pony, but with three more hits of the wall, a small mount of stone gave way and flew to the plant-covered ground below.
He heard yelling behind him and the sound of keys rustling "What's going on?!" A Guard shouted. Storm Chaser took off as fast as he could out the hole, which wasn't fast, and he knew the guards would overtake him easily, so he hid below his prison cell, hiding in a tree.
The Moon was now out, and after reaching the tree, being completely covered by it, he waited for what seemed like ten hours, but was only just one. He slowly went down the tree, and slowly made his way to the Everfree Forest, running as fast as he could, which was easily faster than he flew.
The Everfree Forest was where Storm's house was located, he liked the fact that all clouds above it moved by themselves, though finding his house was not all that hard, it was a white cloud that sat above the cover of eerie light purple ones.
He eventually got to his cloud, where he found a backpack, a jar and his favourite white cloak, which he took, and even did his best to stuff the cloud inside the jar. He eventually did so and stashed the jar, now full with a cloud, in his backpack.
He heard nothing but the wind, and his own heartbeat as he departed the area. As he left, he turned around to take one last look at Ponyville, tears forming in his eyes, he went down to the ground and cried quietly to himself.
Here, all in 24 hours, he was framed, literally banished and made wanted, and possibly every friend he had, wanted to turn him in, so he could be banished and sent to the Moon, by his most trusted friend. All where he was born.
He felt abandoned as he cried loudly and laid down on the ground, burying his tear-soaked eyes in his hooves, his shoulders heaving up and down. He felt like someone was watching him, but he didn't care. he's leaving behind all his best friends, Rainbow Dash, Princess Luna, and all the others behind.
He heard an ominous voice, it was smooth like velvet, and soothed his heart "Don't Cry, My Child... All Will Be Alright He looked around, surprised.
He sniffed and replied, sobbing a bit as he spoke "How could anything be 'Alright' at this point? I've lost everything, everyone thinks i... i... i'm a cold-blooded monster" He cried a bit more, but he felt a hoof touch his shoulder.
The soothing voice of the Mysterious Mare sounded a bit more compassionate this time"I don't think you're a monster..."
Storm chuckled and wiped his face with both hooves and turned around towards the hoof, seeing nothing but air behind him "Even if i'm not a monster, Princess Celestia wants to banish me to the moon regardless, im going to be running from all of Equestria... There's nowhere to go" He started sobbing loudly again, closing his eyes.
The voice seemed to caress him this time, calming him down "Equestria is not all that exists of the world... To the East there is a city... Do you know about it, my Child?"
Storm nodded and wiped the tears from his eyes "Well... I hear it's in the middle of a giant desert, but there's no way i could make it even halfway"
"I know the way there... I can guide you from here to there, but i ask that you trust me" Storm giggled as he stopped crying altogether "How can i trust you, if i can't even see you?"
"Fair Enough" She said, Storm then saw the faint, green silhouette of the beautiful voice, the mare was just slightly taller than him, and had long, constantly waving hair, it reminded him of Luna's hair, which made him smile a bit.
" Now we should go now, lest you be caught by the Royals again" Storm got the general idea and nodded, afterwards they both started off to the East, where the moon had risen from.
Many hours had passed and the gruelling distance had hardly lessenned.
"250 Miles Left" The green mare spoke out of nowhere.
Storm collapsed "Ugh... It'll take forever for us to get there at this rate!" he laid down on the ground as he spoke. the green mare smiled at him, white eyes staring at him "Well we can rest for the night, ease your tired hooves and rest"
Storm looked at her questionningly "Don't you need to rest?"
She simply looked at him and smiled amusingly "No... I would rather watch over you, for many dangers can arrive at night"
She simply looked at him and smiled amusingly "No... I would rather watch over you, for many dangers can arrive at night"
Storm just simply looked at her, concerned, but she simply walked over to him and rested her nose against his forehead, and he fell asleep as her horn glowed faintly.
She sensed a very caring and kind soul within the smaller pegasus that snored before her, but she also felt something deep inside, it strangely made her feel like a mother once again. She sat down next to the pegasus and cast a magical barrier over the area.
'That should mask our presence, however If... Now this is interesting' She turned her head around to her left and saw a pair of purple eyes looking at her, she warmly and invitingly called to the pair of eyes"Twilight Sparkle... I will assume you're not here to bring Storm back... are you?"
Twilight, using her magic created a hole in the powerful barrier, which she easily walked through and replied calmly "I came only for answers"
The Green Mare nodded slowly and looked thoughtful to her statment, Twilight slightly admired how such a thing could exist. The Green Mare was very transparent, and glowed like a dim flame. she was in the shape of a pony, but only features that existed were her face, her mouth and eyes were white, her lips just a simple white line, and her hair looked almost exactly like Luna's... she was very curious as she started with the first of many questions to come "What... are you?"
The Green Mare smiled "What i am is hardly important, you must be wondering what it is that i do... am i correct?"
Twilight Sparkle nodded, and the Green Mare in front of her continued "What I do, is look over Storm, from birth to death, it is only now i've needed to show myself and help the poor little colt"
Twilight jotted down a mental note and said "So you're his guardian angel?"
The Green Mare have a thoughtful nod, tilting her head side to side as she answered "I guess, that's one way to put it" Twilight then went onto another subject "Many ponies back in ponyville believe that Storm Chaser may actually be innocent, what do you think of that?"
The Green Mare simply smiled "I already know he is innocent, i also know somepony in Ponyville framed him..."
The two exchanged words, answers and questions, Twilight got to her last two questions "Where are you taking him, and why?"
The Green Mare looked slightly cautious, but still kept the normal calm and happy expression "Why, to the East. I believe that whomever framed Storm chaser, wants him gone for some reason, for any would know, no mortal pony can survive on the moon, under normal conditions, such conditions Storm would have no doubt been put under"
Twilight replied "So you believe someone is out to get him?"
The Green Mare nodded, words didn't need to be exchanged there. They both knew the cruelty and malice of the real criminal, as what Celestia had not known, many of the killed had been dismembered, skinned, even eaten, if she knew that, Storm would have surely been executed on the spot instead.
The Green Mare nodded at Twilight "So is that all you came here for?" Twilight nodded and turned around, speaking in a warning tone "I would be very careful if I were you, even though the real criminal is still in Ponyville, I'd still be careful"
Twilight recreated the hole in the barrier and vanished with a flash of light as soon as she left the barrier itself.
The Green Mare then noticed Storm's sudden cry out in pain, and shot at him. He was still sleeping, but looked less than peaceful, as he had a vague expression of anger, laced with one of content.
The Green Mare tried her best to wake him up, shaking him, even shouting in his ear didn't work, so she surrounded him with her magic and flipped him upside down, jolting him awake "Wha... Wh..." He giggled slightly as he was looking into the Green Mare's shimmering white eyes, looking worried at him.
She let him down on the ground, right side up, he knew he was having a nightmare, but he also wasn't sure if he should say anything. So, he just simply laid down again, and let sleep take hold of him, closing his eyes slowly and yawning.
The Green Mare smiled in amusement, admiring how cute he was when he slept. She smiled and sat next to him, waiting and watching over him through the night.
Eventually day came and Storm could only mutter "Neh..." as he was prodded in the side by something warm. He woke up slowly and saw the Green Mare looking at him with a smile "Looks like you slept well"
Storm nodded and wiped the sleep from his eyes "So... man i ask you two things before we keep going?"
The Green Mare looked at him with a friendly, curious face "You May" Storm rubbing his mane, smoothing it out to one that barely resembled Twilight's in the shape. "First, what is this place called, and what will we need to go past in order to get there, besides the desert. Second... What's your name?"
The Green Mare chuckled 'Technically three, but it doesn't matter' she thought "The 'place' we go to, is a City that is past any of the known world, beyond Equestria's borders, a good three days worth of travelling east by boat from land, Across Aquarina's Expanse, leads to another continent, and then through jungle and a bit of other obstacles, to the Desert of Stellar, that is where the City is located, which is disguised by the Desert Sands of Time, impossible to find unless you have guide, or know where it is..." She then stood up and started to walk, motioning Storm to follow closely "And as for my name... I am known as Firefly"
The two walked until they reached a small town, named New Harrows Eve.
Storm asked Firefly "Just curious... How well do you react to holding solid objects?" He said, clearly implying her transparent body, almost like glass, it was a strange question, well he found it to be odd. "Well, i'd say that's a good question, but i'd say... Hmmm"
Firefly looked at the ground in thought, "You don't know?" Storm asked. She just gave an embarrassed expression and shrugged "Well, i've never had any need, being a Guardian and all" She stopped talking.
The history about The Guardians is a dark one, best left unforgotten, but most still remember the Legend...
The Guardians had been created by an unknown entity, the one theorized by many pony scientists, to have created the Alicorns. The Guardians had been tasked to lead ponies on the right path, but one day Guardians of Evil had started to appear, they had started to make ponies follow paths of evil and de-harmonize the world. Eventually An equal number of Guardians of both Good and Evil had existed and guided a pony.
This had also caused a massive civil war, one that even the Alicorns themselves had taken part in, on either side.
Celestia was the one who tipped the scales in Good's favor, using the mysterious item, The Elements of Harmony.
And despite having a Guardian of her own, she knew the true evil of all Guardians, as all of them eventually did turn evil, before they faded into nothing, that is. And as such, she despised all of them.
By the end of the Civil War, every Guardian had been either banished or destroyed, none had escaped, as when a Guardian is assigned to a single being, until the being dies, the Guardian is stuck with him/her/it.
Their only weakness was only known by three different Alicorns, little is known if any of the other two still live, one of them being Princess Celestia herself.
Storm nodded "Alright, well... I just need a couple things from in town, but you see..." He looked at the town as they sat behind a cover of bushes and trees, they were hard to see, despite Firefly's glowing. Firefly looked at the town and saw many different posters, some of them wanted notices for him, she did this as he continued "I'm a wanted felon and all, i'd keep going, but i'm just a pony, and i gotta eat, so i was wondering if you could please get something for me?" he looked at Firefly with a pleading and questioning expression.
Firefly nodded and smiled warmly "Of course, what do you need?", "I need just a hoof full of hay", This confused her greatly, surely any pony would be hungry enough to have more than that! He saw slight confusion shown on her face, and Storm eased it "I'm on a mostly cloud diet at the moment"
Firefly thought "I don't think that's too healthy, i don't think it's even bad or good for a pegasus" but Firefly shrugged it off and nodded "Alright... wait, i still don't know how i'll be able to hold solid obje-"
She was cut off as Storm glomped her, knocking her over, he just gave a warm smile, as she felt like the biggest idiot for once in her life. "Okay, i guess that's not a problem" Firefly added as Storm got off of her, the biggest smile on his face, not to mention a very weak blush on his cheeks.
Storm tossed a coin purse to her, it was blue, and wasn't too big, probably only having around 5 bits inside. "A hoof full of hay should be around 2 bits" Firefly nodded and took the bag, surrounding it in her green magic.
She nodded to the red pegasi who sat there is his white cloak "Alright, i'll be back soon"
Firefly, with the blue coin purse hovering in front of her, she asked aronud town on where to get hay, and she eventually was taken to the bakery, where she met a silver colt, one without hair, which surprised her somewhat, but she didn't mention or dwell on it at all. "Alright what'll it be ma'am?" the colt spoke in an airy voice.
Firefly smiled and said "I was told you sell hay here? i don't need it prepared or anything, i just need a hoof full" The colt nodded and went to get some hay. He took a hoof and grabbed a good amount and put it into a bag, tied it up loosely and said "That'll be twenty bits"
Her face was slightly surprised as she, to her further surprised, replied in a slightly protesting tone "Twenty? for so little?" His face was calm and friendly but stayed the same "Sorry, but that's the price"
She sighed and her horn began to glow as she summoned a black and white gem the size of her eye "Can you take this as payment?"
The colt's face was filled with curiosity as he took it "Well i haven't ever seen one of these, looks like a really old gem, so yeah, i'l take it" He gave her a bag of the hay in a small bag.
She turned around, with bag of hay and coin purse floating behind her, and went back to Storm who still waited in the bushes, outside of town.
